Re: I don't think - Edit 1
Before modification by DomA at 18/07/2010 06:17:58 PM
Mesaana could have channelled a protective layer (like gloves) not to touch directly the OR. It's theorically possible, but she would have been surrounded by sisters looking closely at what she was doing (and ready to shield her if she failed the test).
She could easily have woven the barrier before the testing, say when she was alone in her rooms or something. With an inverted weave, no one would have known at all.
That is not what I meant. It's not the weave that would be visible, it's the barrier of air.
I'm not convinced Mesaana could manipulate an object naturally if there's a barrier of air standing between it and her hands, and there would be many sisters looking at her closely. We haven't seen anything like a malleable barrier of air being woven before, like a skin/a glove. All barriers of air we have seen were solid/unbreakable. Mesaana could not move her hands if she surrounded them with air.
The AOL AS trusted the Binder as a judiciary tool, so it's really not obvious it can be beaten at all.
I'm not sure what Brandon said has to be taken so literally either (did he meant the rod itself, or the test). Avoiding to swear the Oaths on the Binder is the most obvious way to beat it, and I think the difference between doing this by managing not to touch the Binder or sending someone else to swear for you (ie: a non-BA Mesaana then killed) is splitting hair. The net result is that you fool the AS into believing you're bound when you're not.